Born on May 10: Bono (U2), activist, philanthropist and... singer

Bono Vox, the charismatic leader of U2, celebrating his 65th birthday today, is still raising his voice, 45 years after his debut...

Born in Dublin in 1960, Paul David Hewson lost his mother at the age of fourteen before the project to form U2 with guitarist The Edge (David Howell Evans, his real name), bassist Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr truly took shape at the very end of the '70s. But he was already using his pseudonym Bono Vox (inspired by a hearing aid shop) for his pre-teen experiments with his friends from the Glasnevin North neighbourhood including Gavin Friday (future Virgin Prunes). "A Day Without Me", their first single for Island, was released in the early weeks of 1980. This marked the beginning of a collaboration with the legendary label that continues to this day.

Quite quickly, Bono displayed charisma that's still intact as well as incisive and engaged writing. The song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which evokes the peaceful march by Northern Irish Catholics against the civil war in 1972 that was bloodily repressed, embodies this viewpoint. Today, moreover, Bono sees himself as much an activist and philanthropist as a rock singer!

While he travelled to Kyiv (accompanied by The Edge) in May 2022 to perform "Pride" in the metro and thus condemn the aggression war waged by Russia against Ukraine, Bono also succumbs like many artists of his generation to the allure of Las Vegas. U2, now without Larry Mullen, performed forty residency concerts there at prices obviously prohibitive for the average person. This immersive experience was an opportunity to replay the album "Achtung Baby" (1991) in an exceptional setting.

Well aware of the potentially negative aspect of these golden residencies in the Nevada desert, The Edge defended it by praising the creative aspect of their show in this Sphere of pharaonic dimensions: over 110 metres high and up to 150 metres wide!

In January 2025, a few days before the transfer of power, Bono received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the hands of Joe Biden. This is the highest civilian honour in the United States. The White House statement highlighted his commitment to the fight against AIDS and poverty. A subject that Donald Trump, by eliminating the USAID agency, obviously doesn't hold dear to his heart...

(MH with Stéphane Massart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Bono during a press conference with U2 at Brussels Airport (Belgium) on July 8 #987